Legal Briefs

Until 2010, these legal briefs provide examples of judgments pertaining to everyday situations. Beginning in 2012, they deal with various topics of general interest, such as rental issues, family law, human rights, civil liability, insurance, dealings between spouses and social aid. They are intended to inform and to prevent undesirable situations.

Legal Briefs 2016

The HAS is intended for parties who wish, for whatever reason, to modify arrangements pertaining to child custody or access rights or to support involving a child or a child and a former spouse. Only people who have previously obtained a judgment with respect to child custody or support who agree onmore

The Service administratif de rajustement des pensions alimentaires pour enfants (SARPA) [child support recalculation service] is a purely administrative service. Where support for a minor child has already been determined by a court judgment, parents can use the SARPA to obtain the recalculation of that support without having to go to court again. The Commission des services juridiques (CSJ) is responsible for managing this service.

This service is offered to all eligible individuals, at a cost of $278. Individuals who are financially eligible for gratuitous legal aid will not be required to pay any fees. Parents who are financially eligible for legal aid in consideration for the payment of a contribution will only be required to pay the lesser of their maximum contribution amount and the fees prescribed by regulation, namely $278 or $139, depending on whether the application is made individually or jointly.

The recalculation application can be submitted to the SARPA by both parents or by one of them alone. The program only applies to situations in which the recalculation does not require any judicial discretion.

When the SARPA receives an eligible application from a parent, it transmits to the other parent a request for information which must be answered within 30 days. If a parent does not provide the information and documents allowing the SARPA to establish his or her income, the SARPA can determine it by augmenting the last known annual income using criteria prescribed by regulation.

Once the SARPA knows or has determined the parents’ incomes, it will use Québec’s basic parental contribution determination table to calculate the child support. The SARPA recalculates support retroactively to a year prior to the application date when the income of either parent has increased.

The SARPA will then send the parties the recalculation notice, which will take effect after the expiry of a period of 30 days, during which the parties can contest the adjustment of the child support. Thereafter, the child support will be collected through Revenue Québec’s Support-Payment Collection Program or, in exempt cases, it will be deemed to be payable.Before filing an application with the SARPA, parents can quickly check their eligibility by filling out the interactive questionnaire available at www.sarpaquebec.ca. After filling out the questionnaire, they will be able to access the SARPA application form.

If they wish, parents can also obtain a paper version of the questionnaire and application form at the legal aid office nearest their residence or by printing the documents available under the “Documents et processus” tab at www.sarpaquebec.ca.

Parents who want to use the service can call 1-855-LeSARPA (1-855-537-2772) or, in Montreal, 514-873-3563, or go to the website: www.sarpaquebec.ca.

Legal brief *October/Nov2016Number07Text prepared byCommission des services juridiques* The information set out in this document is not a legal interpretation.The masculine is used to designate persons solely in order to simplify the text.

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